Alleged 'shove' victim seeks restraining order

Hampton Falls school debate led to dispute

HAMPTON FALLS — A 76-year-old local man is seeking a restraining order against the husband of a School Board member who he claims gave "a good shove" to his surgically reconstructed right shoulder after he spoke out during a public meeting against a $6.6 million school building project.

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By Patrick Cronin

seacoastonline.com

By Patrick Cronin

Posted Apr. 10, 2014 at 2:00 AM

By Patrick Cronin

Posted Apr. 10, 2014 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

HAMPTON FALLS — A 76-year-old local man is seeking a restraining order against the husband of a School Board member who he claims gave "a good shove" to his surgically reconstructed right shoulder after he spoke out during a public meeting against a $6.6 million school building project.

William Kenney said he filed for the restraining order at Rockingham Superior Court on March 28 against John Ratigan, after Kenney said police opted against filing criminal charges in the matter.

"They (the police) did nothing whatsoever," Kenney said. "I wrote them a letter, asked them what they were going to do about it and what steps they were going to take to protect me, and nothing. Not a blessed thing."

Police Chief Robbie Dirsa said the decision not to move forward with charges came from the department's prosecutor, who is an assistant county attorney.

"The prosecutor took a look at what we have done for an investigation and didn't feel there was enough to go forward with criminal charges," Dirsa said. "The case is currently closed and no charges will be filed."

Kenney said he is seeking a restraining order because he's "scared" of Ratigan and doesn't want what occurred to happen again. "He was obviously trying to bully me that night and intimidate me, and that is not going to happen," Kenney said.

A hearing on Kenney's request, which asks the court to bar Ratigan from having any physical or verbal contact with him at any time, is scheduled for 9 a.m. April 21.

The alleged incident occurred at a contentious March 6 School Board meeting before the March 11 election, in which town voters were being asked to support a $6.4 million bond for a renovation/addition project at Lincoln Akerman School. While the majority of voters supported the project — which would have also used $178,269 in impact fees, bringing the total cost to $6.6 million — it failed at the voting booth. It received 54 percent of the vote, short of the 60 percent required for passage.

Kenney claims that at the March 6 meeting, Ratigan, husband of School Board member Robin Moyer Ratigan, "knocked into" him after Kenney accused the board of committing "intellectual dishonesty" in its discussions about the school renovation project. Kenney claimed the School Board was misleading the public by using a $6.4 million figure.

The actual figure, he said, was $10 million, because it will include, by his estimation, about $3.6 million in interest.

Kenney said he was met with "hostility" by board members and members of the public when he tried to discuss this point, as it was not on the agenda. He believes this led to the alleged shoving incident.

Ratigan, according to Kenney, later sneered at Kenney in a hallway of the school and "got in (his) face" again at the end of meeting.

Kenney filed his four-page police report that night after attending the board meeting at Lincoln Akerman School. Ratigan also reportedly filed a police complaint that night, arriving at the station after Kenney and reportedly after Kenney had told him he would be filing a report.

Witnesses have told Seacoast Media Group conflicting accounts of the events at the March 6 meeting. Some confirmed Kenney's story and claimed Ratigan approached him, while others said Ratigan never touched Kenney and that Kenney was the one who instigated a verbal confrontation.

Kenney said he was told by police that the "differing accounts" is the reason charges were not filed. Dirsa said police spoke with many witnesses. Police also viewed the meeting, which was videotaped, but Dirsa said "it didn't show a lot."

"The prosecutor viewed all the witness statements and was the one who made the determination" to not file charges, Dirsa said.